They Didn't For Me
by Bookquoting-machine
Summary: Dean catches a young hunter stealing food and decides to help her out. After all, he was in a similar situation a long time ago...


Your shoulders dropped as you approached the familiar, dirty building. A gas station market. Normally you hated these places, but right now, you were disappointed it was the only one in town.

You walked in, scanning the room. There was a young woman, paying for her children's snacks and a middle-aged man standing down one of the back aisles. You panicked, ducking behind the nearest stand, when you realized the cashier was the same one that was there two days ago. _Crap._

He hadn't seemed to notice that you had walked in yet, so you figured, might as well keep going.

You slid down the aisle, your head ducked below the top shelf, so no one could see you. Along the way, you grabbed a pack of gum and a small candy bar. Then, you swiped a soda from the cooler in the back, and two bags of chips off the next shelf.

Kneeling, you stuffed the chips, candy, and soda into your backpack, then tucked the gum into your back pocket.

You attempted sneaking back out the way you came, but in your rush, you became careless. The man behind the counter could hear your footsteps and as soon as you came out from behind the display, you were caught.

"Aha!" he cried. You attempted to escape through the front door, but you weren't fast enough. He grabbed your backpack, pulling you away from the door, and knocking you off your feet.

"Hey!" The other man in the mart came walking around the corner, while the cashier forcefully ripped your pack off of you.

"Not to worry, sir," the man rushedly said. "This girl is a thief. We caught her trying to steal two days ago."

"I didn't steal-" you attempted to defend yourself, reaching for your bag, but he swung it out of your reach.

"Not so fast," he argued. "Let's see what you swiped from me this time, huh?"

You huffed in frustration as he tipped the contents of the bag onto the floor.

The stolen stuff came out first, proving you quite guilty, but after it fluttered some other things you kept in your bag. Newspaper clippings, notes, business cards. The cashier didn't seem to care for them, reaching for the food, but the other man's eyes lit up with curiosity.

"See!" he exclaimed, waving the food around. "I _knew_ you were taking stuff."

You shrugged. "Alright, you caught me," you complied. "Now can I go-"

You reached for the backpack again and was let down for a second time.

"No way. You are coming with me."

He grabbed your upper arm and pulled you towards the back of the store, wheeling you past the older man. You caught his eye as you were struggling and something about them seemed… familiar. You knew for a fact that you had never met that man before, but he reminded you of someone.

You continued to try and pull away from the cashier, but his grip was painfully strong. You could have easily knocked him in the teeth and made a hasty retreat, but there was a witness, and if things got physical, you could be in much worse trouble.

He threw you into a storage room, located behind the counter. "I'm calling the cops. Don't move."

As soon as the door slammed, you looked around wildly, hoping to find an escape route somewhere. There was a large window behind you, but it was too tall to reach. Even if you could jump up to it, there was no way you could get it open without your feet on the ground.

This was bad. If the cops came, it was basically all over for you.

You ran around, searching for something to stand on, but came up empty. There was no other way of getting out, you thought, when a subtle knocking caught your attention. Looking up, you were shocked to see the strange man from the mart pulling the window open.

You were so eager, you made a running started and lept straight for the window. You pulled yourself over the ledge and began to crawl through.

"Woah!" the man exclaimed, backing away as you struggled to escape the storage room.

He reached up, grabbing your shoulders and easing you out of the window.

"Hey. You gotta be more careful, dude. I was planning on helping you get out, but you really shouldn't leap out of windows, head first."

You didn't have the time or the energy to fight this man on whether or not it was safe to escape from gas marts. You had been in much more danger in your life.

"I have to go. The cops will be here soon." You made to walk away but he stepped in front of you, not letting you get a word in before holding up a bundle of papers.

"What are these?" he asked.

You immediately recognized them as the assortment of articles you kept in your bag.

You swiped them from him, but he didn't put up much of a fight.

You chuckled, looking over the things he had grabbed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," he insisted. You looked up to meet his eyes, and once again, you were struck by how startlingly familiar they seemed. And then, you recognized them.

"You're a hunter, aren't you?"

A grin broke out across his face. "I knew it. As soon as I saw those papers I realized you must have been on a hunt."

It was really weird, looking at him. You had never met another hunter before, at least, one that wasn't a part of your family.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked, sticking a hand out for you to shake.

You hesitated for a moment, before taking it. "Y/N. And you are?"

"Dean."

There was something about Dean that put you at ease. You couldn't tell what it was yet, and you weren't entirely sure that you could trust it, but it was there.

"Let's go get you something real to eat," Dean suggested, beginning to walk away.

The comment made you tense. "I don't need your help," you fired back.

You reached into your back pocket, pulling out the gum you had managed to escape with.

"The fact that you were just trying to steal from a gas station says otherwise." He turned around when he heard you open the packaging and stopped. "Did you just steal that?"

You smirked, shoving one of the pieces in your mouth. "I might be a better thief than you think."

He rolled his eyes. "How did you manage to keep it?"

"Whenever I steal, I always grab a pack of gum and hide it on my person, because if you are caught with a backpack, they never think to search anywhere else. Why would they? Who would put all their stolen goods in one place except for one, unnecessary thing."

He thought about it for a moment, then seemed to catch on. "Gum to ward off hunger," he put together. "In case you can't get food. Smart."

You kept following him until he stopped at an old, black car.

"Well," he opened up the driver's seat door, "get in."

You were froze, unsure how to react in this situation. You knew that you should go back to the motel you were staying at, but if this man was offering you food, how could you turn it down? He stood, waiting patiently for you to chose something.

"How do you know that I won't just steal from you?"

"Because you're hungry." Dean looked down after he said it, making you think he'd been in a situation like this before. "Now, let's go."

"I really shouldn't…" you started to say as you followed Dean to the diner.

"What?" he asked. "Where else do you have to be?"

"My brother-" you started to explain, but stopped yourself. "I just shouldn't be away for too long."

Dean didn't slow down, walking up to a table and having you sit with him. "Older or younger brother?"

You couldn't tell why he cared. "Older," you grumbled.

"Huh," Dean responded, looking over the menu. "Isn't the older brother supposed to take care of you?"

"I can take care of myself," you hissed, but immediately felt bad. "He tries. He doesn't want me stealing, because he's worried I'll get caught-"

"Like you did today," Dean interrupted.

"But he can't look out for us both. We take breaks in small towns where he can get jobs and make us some more money, but it's not enough. It's never enough. I try to get jobs too, but it's harder for me."

"You two don't have any parents?"

You shook your head. "How do people get into hunting, huh?" you joked, but he was very serious. "No, not anymore. They went missing a couple of years ago. I was thirteen at the time. That's why I have to get back to the motel before my brother comes back. He'll panic."

Dean went to respond, but right then, a waiter walked over to take your order.

You ordered your food, then turned back to Dean.

"Thanks for saving me back there. I don't think I said it, but I really can't go to jail."

Dean shrugged. "No problem, but they might not have taken you to jail… they didn't for me."

Your ears perked up. "What are you talking about?"

"When I was about your age," he explained. "I was caught stealing some food for my little brother. Our dad had left us some money before leaving on a hunt, but I lost it. So, I tried stealing to get us food and I got caught, and when my dad found out, he told the police to let me rot in jail. But instead they took me to this… place. A boy's home."

You laughed. "That sounds worse than jail."

He shook his head quickly. "Of course not. I loved the place. I lived there for two months. I went to school, got onto the wrestling team, started dating this girl. I was a normal kid. No more hunting or anything. But, my dad came to pick me up as soon as he found another job and needed me to babysit, Sammy."

"I could never leave my brother," you argued. "We're… he's all I have. Besides… no one gets out of the life. You didn't."

Dean looked like he wanted to argue, but he couldn't. "Sam's the only reason I went back. My dad was a massive douchebag, but I could handle him. My brother on the other hand? He hadn't been exposed to dad's issues like I had. I couldn't leave him alone like that."

There was a pause, then Dean's phone began to ring.

"Speak of the Devil," he mumbled, then picked it up. "Hey there, Sammy… no, I'm fine. I stopped for gas and I… no, no, I'll explain everything later-" Dean held up a finger to you to excuse himself, then stood up and left, still talking with his brother.

You glanced around the diner for something to distract you, but came up empty. Slowly, thoughts about a life without hunting: living with other kids, having a family, not being so afraid anymore, crept in.

"Can I have a box for this?" you asked the waiter as she passed by.

"Of course, sweetheart." She smiled, walking to grab that for you.

Dean's face scrunched together. "You only ate half of it. I'm sure you're starving. Why not finish it?"

You looked down at your hands, feeling guilty. "I just…"

"You want to give it to your brother?" he asked.

You nodded, and he dropped the subject.

"What time is it?" You realized that you hadn't been paying much attention to the clock.

"It's…" he checked his phone, "almost 3."

You startled up. " _What?_ I have to go!"

You fumbled to throw as much food as you could into the box.

"Hey, hey, hey. Slow down." Dean tried to help you, but you were almost running out the door. "I'll give you a ride."

"I can't ask you to do that," you replied. "You've done so much for me today already. Plus, what would my brother say if he saw me roll up with a stranger."

Dean stopped you. "Let me drive you. I need to make sure you get there safely."

You just shrugged him off. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because, you remind me of someone."

The comment really threw you for a loop, and suddenly, you were back in his car, explaining how to get to the motel.

As you pulled up, you briefly noted your brother's car was there. _Shit_.

You turned to look at the man one last time.

"Thank you. For absolutely everything."

He smiled. "Do you want me to go in with you and help you explain things?"

You shook your head. "Nah. I think I can handle my brother just fine… Take care of yourself Dean. And your brother."

"You too," he chuckled. "Please call me if you or your brother need anything."

You got out of the car and slowly, walked up to the room. Before you had even gotten there, your brother opened the door and wild look in his eyes, which settled once he saw you.

He rushed over, wrapping his arms around you. You breathed in the smell and feeling of him, just glad that you could put him at ease.

Dean watched this sight from the car, a sweet smile on his face. He waited for the two of you to walk back inside before he started the car again and slowly left. Back to his brother and the big road ahead.


End file.
